Illegal immigration is about much more
than fighting terrorism. IllegalMexicans
are pouring across our borders and, as a result, American tax-paidservices like education and healthcare are
being pushed to the brink ofcollapse.
Each new report of activities along our 2,000-mile border withMexico
appears to be more outrageous than the last.

On January 22nd, the nation's
newspapers reported that Hispanics nowoutnumber
Blacks in America with a population that has grown to 37 million,up 4.7% from the 2000 Census. On the same
day, the Washington Times reportedthat
the General Services Administration had suspended recognition ofidentification
cards issued by the Mexican government to "hundreds ofthousands"
of Mexican nationals to secure US documentation such as driver'slicenses
and to establish bank accounts. None of the cards list the carrier'simmigration status.

The Mexican government of President
Vicente Fox has basically demanded thatthe
United States accept and care for citizens of his country who aresneaking in illegally. Fox has become
increasingly vocal in demanding thatthe
United States create amnesty and work-visa programs to legalize more
thanthree million illegal Mexicans
now living in the United States. As more than10,000
illegal Mexicans flood into our nation every day, there is littleconcern on Capitol Hill and virtually no
legislation pending to deal with theproblem.

Those, like Congressman Tom Tancredo of
Colorado, who vocally oppose the openborder
policy are ignored. President Bush continues to call for the amnestythat President Fox seeks. The new U.S.
Ambassador to Mexico, Tony Garza,assured
Mexico that reaching an accord legalizing the status of Mexicanimmigrants,
without giving them citizenship, continues to be a top BushAdministration
priority.

Consider these actions by the Mexican
government inside the United States injust
the past few months.

Item: The Mexican government has issued
more than 800,000 slick, pocket-sizedidentification
cards to both legal and illegal immigrants. Those cards arebeing
distributed through Mexican consulates all over the United States.House Democrat Minority Leader, Nancy
Pelosi, has advocated their use in herSan
Francisco home district.

The cards list the holder's birth date,
place of birth, U.S. address andencoded
information to prevent fraudulent duplication. Over the past year,Mexican officials have been openly
lobbying local police departments, banksand
local government agencies in the United States to accept the cards,making it easier for the holders to get
jobs, open bank accounts, and getgovernment
services. The strategy is to work the system from the bottom up,making
the cards acceptable on the local level before Congress can pass anylegislation concerning the activity. That
way, Mexico believes, the Congresswill
have no choice but to simply rubber stamp approval of the practice.

In spite of the fact that the GSA has
suspended recognition of these cards,currently
more than 800 U.S. police departments, 15 cities and 13 states nowaccept the cards as valid ID. At least 66
U.S. banks, led by Wells Fargo andBank
of America, have also agreed to accept the cards, opening tens ofthousands of new bank accounts in states
across the country, from Californiato
Georgia. Mexico is reaping a bonanza as immigrants send more than $10billion per year back to relatives at
home. That figure equals what Mexicoearns
in annual tourism dollars.

Item: Mexican ambulance drivers are
transporting hospital patients, unable topay
for medical care in Mexico, to facilities in the United States. They
knowthat the federal Emergency
Medical Act mandates that U.S. hospitals withemergency-room
services must treat anyone who requires care, includingillegal
aliens.

Medical service for Americans in
affected communities is being severelydamaged
as hospitals absorb more than $200 million in unreimbursed costs.Some emergency rooms have shut down
because they cannot afford to stay open.Local
tax-paying Americans are either denied medical care or have to wait inlong lines for service as the illegals
flood the facilities. In California,the
losses are calculated to be about $79 million, with $74 million in
Texas,$31 million in Arizona, and
$6 million in New Mexico.

Item: Schools are suffering the same
fate as hospitals as illegal aliens fillclassrooms,
bloat budgets, and rob taxpayers of decent facilities forAmerican
children. Federal law and an incredible Supreme Court ruling banschools
from denying free education to illegal aliens.

In addition, state colleges and
universities are being forced to allowillegal
aliens to receive tuition discounts that are supposed to be reservedfor U.S. residents. In California, a new
law (Assembly Bill 540) allowsundocumented
high school graduates who have been in residence in Californiafor
three years to enroll in community colleges and the California StateUniversity and University of California
systems without paying nonresidenttuition.
California opposes allowing schools to report illegal aliens or todeny them enrollment.

Item: Several cities have declared
themselves "safe havens" for illegalaliens
and refuse to enforce immigration laws. Los Angeles, Chicago, SanFrancisco, Seattle, and New York City have
all declared themselves to besanctuaries
for illegal aliens. In other words, these city governments refuseto uphold federal law or defend American
borders.

Item: On several occasions, heavily
armed Mexican soldiers have actuallycrossed
over into United Sates territory and fired on U.S. Border Patrolpersonnel.
Border Patrol officials confirmed that the Juarez drug cartel hasplaced a bounty of $200,000 on U.S.
lawmen.

Item: The U.S. Border Patrol is using
tax dollars to advertise theestablishment
of eight "rescue beacons" along the border to help illegalaliens find they way. A strobe light is
used to direct illegal aliens to thebeacons
to help with night crossings. During the day a reflective mirrorguides
the crossers.

The one-minute commercials are expected
to run in 2003 on TV stations inMexico
and in the border city of Yuma, Arizona. "Officials want to reachviewers in the interior parts of Mexico,
where potential border crossers mayknow
little about the treacherous terrain and nothing about the
beacons," theAssociated Press
reported.

So great is the Mexican invasion that
the U.S. government has decided toaccept
illegal aliens as a economic fact instead of trying to stop it. Thereis no movement on Capitol Hill to stem the
flow of illegal Mexicans eventhough
recent polls show overwhelming support by Americans for strongeraction
against illegal immigrants. It is now up to American taxpayers toapply pressure on our elected officials to
demand an end to these outrageouspolicies.

This is our land, not Mexico's. It's
high time we told that to our ownleaders
and especially to the government of Mexico.

Tom DeWeese is publisher/editor of The
DeWeese Report and president of theAmerican
Policy Center, a grassroots, activist think tank headquartered inWarrenton, VA. The Center maintains an
Internet site atwww.americanpolicy.org.